I have 2 coffee makers on my kitchen counter. I’ve had the Keurig for several years. It works great and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It’s fast and takes very little effort to make coffee. I received a fancy Ninja coffee maker as a gift this past Christmas. Initially, I took the Keurig down and gave it to my daughter to take back to college. I started using the Ninja immediately after unpacking it. It took a few coffee morning sessions to get use to the new way of making my coffee. It has so many coffee options. You can make iced coffee, cappuccinos, classic coffee, rich coffee, & it even does espressos. Plus, it can froth which I haven’t quite figured out yet. I know how to do it, but not sure why I should do this. I must not be using the right milk or creamer🤷🏼‍♀️.

Anyways, a few weeks after getting use to the Ninja coffee maker my daughter transferred to University of Memphis. She moved home and brought the Keurig back too. So, I now have 2 coffee makers in my home. I plugged the Keurig back up and placed it next to the Ninja. It didn’t take long for me to start using the Keurig again and completely stop using the Ninja. Why would I go back to the Keurig?? I’ll tell you exactly why…The Ninja takes more time and effort to use. I have to measure coffee, think harder, & push more buttons to get it to produce coffee. The Keurig is the easier option that requires no thinking at all. I can practically turn it on in my sleep. And it is right in front of me, ready for me to push 1 simple button, so it can make a cup of coffee. So what if it doesn’t make great coffee, it’s easy and produces a mediocre cup of coffee. I know the Ninja coffee is better, but I’ve settled for the Keurig coffee.

So, Why am I writing about these 2 coffee makers? I don’t work for either company nor will I get any promotions for plugging these coffee maker names into my blog. I am writing about this because having 2 options is not better than one. I thought plugging the old coffee maker back up was a good thing. But, in all honesty it was a bad thing. It gave me an easier option to make my morning coffee that produced a bad cup of joe. The Ninja makes WAY better coffee than the Keurig. Sure it takes a little longer to prep and clean up, but it tastes 1000% better and can make more than 1 cup if I want it to!! So why would I settle for 1 cup of mediocre coffee? Because I am human and it’s the available easier option. The Keurig takes less work and less time to make coffee than the fancy Ninja. It’s human nature to want the easy option. Especially, when we have 2 options staring right in front of us. As I starred at my coffee maker options this morning I realized having 2 options was not a good thing if I wanted to drink the best homemade cup of coffee possible. If I only have the Ninja on my counter I would be forced to use it or go without coffee, but who does that 😝😂?! Therefore, I need to toss the Keurig, start using my Ninja again, and get back to drinking amazing homemade coffee.

How can this silly tale of 2 coffee makers apply to us in a more serious way? Most people like to have options and want to keep things instead of letting go or tossing to the curb. We hang onto relationships that are not good for us because we think we need them. Or maybe we don’t want to let them go because it feels too hard. We think it is easier to keep them in our life instead as we try to make new changes . Or maybe like me, you didn’t realize having 2 options was a bad thing because it gave you an easier option to choose from that produced a mediocre outcome. We won’t fully embrace the new possibly harder option as long as we have an easier option. We will always go back to what’s easy if it’s available. Let go of it. Get rid of it. It may be hard, but it’s even harder to settle for a mediocre life. You were created for an abundant life in Jesus Christ. It’s not the easy way. But neither is living an ok life you settled for just because the other way was harder. You will have to work hard and put more effort into this life, but it’s worth it. Doing hard things makes you stronger and prepares you for even harder things to come. Life is hard! We need to be people who choose to embrace hard things instead of wanting the easy way. Let go of whatever is enabling you to choose the easy way. I’ll go first by getting rid of my Keurig today. Otherwise, I will keep settling for mediocre coffee and never fully embrace all that my fancy Ninja coffee maker can do.

So, who wants a Kureig??

CAT

Have you ever been thirsty or dehydrated? Typically, the brain will send signals to our body when we are thirsty before we get dehydrated. My mouth gets dry if I am really thirsty and I can’t seem to get enough to drink! Nothing will quench this kind of thirst except water. But, I can ignore my thirst and eventually it will turn to dehydration.

Did you know you can be dehydrated without even knowing it? Yep! Scary, huh? Our brain sends all the signals, but many times we don’t respond to it. The first signal is usually being thirsty. If you ignore it for too long more serious signals occur such as fatigue, bright yellow urine, foggy brain, dry mouth, confusion, dark circles under the eyes, dizziness, organ malfunction, and even death. This is how your body is letting you know it’s in the danger zone. Once you get in the danger zone it takes more than a cup or two of water to quench your thirst and get you re-hydrated.

Our spiritual life goes through a similar process when we ignore the signals. Many times we don’t even know our spiritual life is in the danger zone because we haven’t paid attention to our thirst. We fill ourselves with everything else except Jesus. We run hard after our career, kids, responsibilities, social lives, and or fitness goals. Or maybe those aren’t the things you pursue, but you pursue something. Whatever fills your time & mind, that is not God, that is the thing you’re chasing. We give Jesus our leftovers if even that much. We end up tired, weary, stressed out, & empty. These are the warning signals letting us know we are thirsty for Jesus.

I normally start my day by reading the word of God and praying. But, I can read the bible and still miss Jesus.

Especially if I am reading just to mark it off my list. Or, If my heart is not right within me and my mind is distracted by everything else I need to do. I can easily miss out on experiencing Jesus. I am guilty of all of the above which is why I know we can be thirsty for Jesus without even knowing it. We ignore the signals such as being tired, irritable, stressed, anxious, exhausted, empty, etc…these are indicators of a life that is spiritually thirsty. If we ignore these signals for too long we will end up in the spiritually dehydrated. Don’t get me wrong I know we have to manage our responsibilities and juggle many things to some degree. But spending quality time with Jesus is more important than anything else on our to do list. If I run myself ragged to get all my to do list accomplished, which I do at times, but miss Jesus what have I really accomplished?

Recently, I visited a friend’s church. The sermon was just what I needed to hear. It was not a feel good type of message. It was quite convicting. And it was uncomfortable to some degree because it shed light on my sin (which is a good thing). I had been chasing after everything, but Jesus. It was a powerful message because it was the very word of God being taught which spoke directly to my heart. I went to lunch with my friend after church. We talked for a couple of hours in booth at Newks. I could have continued to talk to her for hours. I could not get enough of the fellowship we were experiencing together that day. God used that particular Sunday to show me some things missing in my spiritual life.

My soul was thirsty for ONLY the Word of God being taught & community with other genuine believers. I did not even realize these things were missing from my life until I experienced church in a different way that day. I go to church regularly. I have godly friends from church & outside of church. I read the Word daily. But, something was missing in my spiritual life and had been for several months. I knew it in the depth of my soul due to all those warning signs, but I had not been able to identify the missing link. The signs were right in front of me daily. I was tired, exhausted, quick to anger, empty, & stressed out. So, how did I not know? Because I had not slowed down long enough to hear what God was trying to tell me. I had been filling myself up with all the things on my to-do list. I chased after more work, fitness goals, productivity over relationships, significance from other sources, etc…These things are never enough and will never be enough! These things leave me feeling exhausted, stressed out, & weary most days. If I am being transparent, I will always want more of something other than God to some degree because I am a sinner. But, God in His mercy created us with a hole in our heart, so that we would pursue Him to satisfy our wondering hearts. We were never meant to be satisfied by the things of the world. If the things of the world could satisfy us, we would never seek God Almighty.

These things even the good things we do daily to fill us are only temporary. Let us be people who seek the Lord, pursue the things of the Lord, and be filled up with the One true source of living water that will satisfy our thirst for more. He won’t leave us feeling tired, weary, stressed out, etc…He actually gives us strength, comfort, peace, & rest when we cast down our idols & seek Him. When we are filled up with Jesus Christ our hearts should be content with whatever God has given us. We may still want more, but we can trust God will provide it if we need it. We don’t have to run ourselves ragged in order to make it happen. God is the only One who can and will truly quench our thirsty souls. Let His love fill you up, and remember His love is not temporary, it is everlasting. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

What about you? Are you thirsty? Are you tired, stressed out, or feeling empty these days? Are you spiritually dehydrated? Evaluate your heart’s desires…Ask God to show you what’s in your heart. Do these desires align with the truth? Are you seeking eternal things or running yourself ragged for temporary things? If so, ask God to show you what He wants you to pursue. Pursue the things of the Lord, seek Him and His kingdom first and all these things will be added to you.

CAT